Fantastic Mr Fox on DVD

****

Initial Thoughts: What I think is interesting about Fantastic Mr Fox is how much adults seem to rave about it. Everyone I’ve spoken to about this movie told me how much they adored it – but I wasn’t convinced whether it was quite so immediately appealing to children. The DVD version we were sent for review includes the movie and a short featurette, plus a digital version of the film that can be downloaded to your laptop or similar.

We liked: Honestly, this is a children’s film made for adults. The film takes huge liberties with the source material and the result is a gorgeous looking film with a stunning soundtrack and deliberately retro animation style. Fantastic Mr Fox has a lot to say about the boredom of settling into a bourgeois life of working and putting food on the table. It’s lovely. That’s not say Flea didn’t have fun, too – the scenes of the foxes setting the table, using crockery and then reverting to fox behaviour and noisily gobbling up the food made Flea laugh her head off.

We weren’t keen: I’m not sure this film is the easiest viewing for under 6s, as the pace is gentle, the action low-key and the music very soothing. Compared to something like Toy Story, this doesn’t grab Flea’s attention, and the story is a little too complex for her to follow.

Overall: This is a gorgeous, meticulously made animation and one of those films you’ll love more than your children – which is a rarity. For older children, the story is perfect, and they’ll appreciate the dedication that has gone into making the film, and some of the references to the modern world that are included in the film’s version of the Fox family.